Meg Whitman, former Prop 8 supporter, now an advocate for same-sex marriage

Meg Whitman, the president and chief executive officer of Hewlett-Packard, who, as a GOP candidate for Governor of California in 2010 supported Proposition 8, the voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage, is now one of more than 75 prominent Republicans to publicly support marriage equality for gays and lesbians.

Whitman is among dozens of GOP leaders to have signed an amicus brief that will be filed this week in the case of Hollingsworth v. Perry, the federal challenge seeking to strike down Proposition 8.

I have come to embrace same-sex marriage after a period of careful review and reflection. As a candidate for governor three years ago, I supported Proposition 8. At the time, I believed the people of California had weighed in on this question and that overturning the will of the people was the wrong approach. The facts and arguments presented during the legal process since then have had a profound impact on my thinking.

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I have come to embrace same-sex marriage after a period of careful review and reflection. As a candidate for governor three years ago, I supported Proposition 8. At the time, I believed the people of California had weighed in on this question and that overturning the will of the people was the wrong approach. The facts and arguments presented during the legal process since then have had a profound impact on my thinking.

Whitman concludes that she, like several others who have either sought or held public office, “including President Obama, I have changed my mind on this issue.”

“Same-sex couples and their children should have equal access to the benefits of marriage,” she wrote.

The amicus brief argues that same-sex marriage promotes family values by allowing children of gay couples to grow up in two-parent homes, and that it advances conservative values of “limited government and maximizing individual freedom.” (A complete list of signatories on the brief is here.)

The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments in the case on March 26.